RAF Marham organised another track day at their extensive airfield. Playtoy Motorsport took the Xsara VTS track slag down for some thrills and spills. read more >>
Mini2.com organised a Mini run down to the Top Gear Studios at Dunsfold airfield. A run round the famous track was the highlight of the event whilst some of the major tuning companies were present showing off their latest range of modifications. read more >>
Events 2007
Here you will find news about what the playtoy crew have been upto this year. From hill climbs to car shows, we will cover it here!
The Playtoy Citroen Xsara VTS as pictured here - innovatively named "Track Slag", has been trailered down to RAF Marham for a two day track day, to be thrashed (sorry driven) round the track by Simon, Wayne, Nathaniel and Chris. If the car is still intact when it returns ill be amazed! -
The Xsara made a whole weekend of Marham, pulling 140+ on the straights, it worried a few standard subaru impreza turbo's!
Redline Ten of the Best Elvington (TOTB) - 29 July 2007
We went along to see the Redline Magazine sponsored Ten Of The Best at Elvington. Ten of the Best (TOTB) is a performance road car event, aimed at finding the best allround car in Europe. Handling, top speed and the 1/4m drag strip are used to determine the outcome. Some of the entries included Roger Clark Motorsports Subaru Impreza Turbos, to Nissan Micras with 400 BHP! In between the heats and the final, a stunt bike show kept the crowds entertained.
Ten of the Best proved to be a good day out, providing an opportunity to see some of the fastest cars accelerating down the runway, as well as see them thrown round the handling circuit.
Harewood Hillclimb School Day - 26 July 2007
Nick and Peta took part in the Harewood Hillclimb School day in their Mini Cooper S's. The day started with a classroom session, in which the 31 participants were shown the layout of the track, with a talk explaining how each corner should be taken. Here the turn in point, apex and exit of each bend was shown. Once the classroom session was over there was a walk of the course, where your allocated instructor takes your group round the track, pointing out the turn in, apex and exit points of each bend as shown in the classroom session.
A first run is made with the instructor sat alongside, who makes sure you are following the correct lines. Then a further 3 runs were made before lunch. Whereby the drivers familiarise themselves with the lines, and slowly increase the pace. At lunch time, the first half of the hills turns are played back on tv, with the instructors pointing out where the right lines were taken, and where improvements could be made.
After lunch a further 3 runs were made up the hill, followed by a final run with the instructor, for them to rate your progress. Throughout the day drivers are marked on each bend from the trackside, as well as the runs accompanied by the instructor to come up with a final score for the day.
The day ended in a debriefing, and a run through of the second half of the turns on the hill as filmed throughout the day.
All in all, it is a great day out, and is excellent value for money. We definately would recommend it for someone wanting to improve their times, or just as a fun day out!
Click below to view the pictures
The Bradford Classic - The Kickstart Super Stage 22 July 2007
The Bradford Classic celebrated 25 years from the introduction of group b rallying with a display of genuine ex works rally cars, courtesy of Slowly Sideways at Odsal Stadium. There were cars such as Audi Quattro, Lancia 037, Renault 5 Turbo, Toyota Celica, Porsche 911 and the Opel Manta. A number of high speed laps were made by each car.
In between the group b rally cars, Russ Swift put on a display with his mini cooper s, with handbrake turns and driving on two wheels. Followed by some sideways action and donuts in the Mitsubishi Evo 9.
Here is a video of the Peugeot 205 T16 in action!...
Click below to view the pictures
Harewood MSA Hillclimb 7th/8th July
Simon Medley competed in the MSA Hillclimb event at Harewood, finishing 3rd in class with a very respectable time of 65.60
Click below to view the pictures
Shaz Ball 1000
The Shaz Ball 1000 took place for Simons stag do, the plan was to travel 1000 miles (ish) and take in the sites of Reims Circuit and take a few laps round the Nurburgring. Here is how it went...
Day1: Leeds -> Amiens
The group of 8 cars joined at the local pub car park at 730 am, from here we set off down the A1 to Dover. Taking a ferry crossing over to Calais. The route then took us down through France to the first night stop in Amiens.
Day2: Amiens -> Liege
Setting off from Amiens, the route took us to Reims, where we visited the remains of the old Reims Circuit. After a look round and a few blasts down the old straight, we headed off to Liege, our second night stop in a 4 star hotel central to Liege.
Day3: Liege -> Nurburgring
After a fairly heavy night in Liege, we headed up to the Ringhaus at the Nurburgring to drop our bags off, before heading to the Nordschleife for a few laps! (anyone thinking about doing this... DO IT!) it was awesome!
Day 4: Nurburgring -> Leeds
In the morning, we visited a number of the view points around the Nordschleife to see the manufacturers testing prototypes. Then we headed off for Zebrugge to get the ferry back to Hull!
To view the pictures, click on the Flickr link, and to view the videos click on the You Tube link.
Here is a clip of Wayne and Rob dancing on the ferry from Zebrugge!
Cadwell Park (June 07)
Mini2.com organised a run around Lincolnshire, stopping at Cadwell Park race circuit for lunch. We were given 3 free laps behind a pace car. The run then took us to the picturesque seaside town of Skegness!
Autosport 2007 (January 07)
In january, the crew went down to the Autosport show via the Weetabix factory! The show was very good, with the highlight being the Live Show, which featured some drift demonstrations, along with some WRC cars being thrashed round!
